The Thin Line
by Knickel-Deal
Summary: On Hold
1. Chapter 1

The Thin Line

By Nocturn Sadist

To say, in the least, the school day had started horribly. That's why you could find a bobbing mop of flaming orange hair coming down the street. The street was deserted, meaning, the orange mop was skipping school. If the orange mop was skipping school, then, that didn't exactly mean he was hailed as student of the month. In fact, this was the second school he had to attend after being expelled from the All Boys School From Hell.

It wasn't that he was bad; or that he was even rude and smart to the teachers. It wasn't the teachers that were the problem. It were the students that attended the school. It always was the students that attended the school. The orange mop had thought that all that had stopped after an insane, yet enjoyable, year. That it meant things were going to be different. Of course there were those who still made fun of the orange mop. But, it was a different kind of fun.

That is, until today, of this new and clumsily jump started year.

They got several new transfers. Kids expelled from the same school together for some misbehavior done to a teacher. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that Kyo Sohma was well acquainted with the six boys.

That morning, the bell blared the start of class.

"...morning, students."

"Good morning, Schizaeaceae-sensei!"(A/N: Don't ask. I was about to name the teacher Shouseki when _that_ showed up in the proper spelling box.)

"Morning, S-sensei."

There several other murmured 'good mornings' and then the students settled down. They looked at the greying man expectantly. Not knowing what the wily man had in store for them.

"Today," S-sensei said, "we are getting several new transfers. I would like you to welcome them as you welcome your closest classmate. Please, make them feel comfortable however short or long their stay may be. You may come in."

The last part was apparently directed at the people standing just outside the classroom. The door slid aside and revealed seven more of the school's most handsome and good looking students. Well, they would have been handsome and good looking if they didn't wear expressions of barely hidden contempt.

Schizaeaceae-sensei inspected his new students, "may I introduce Niwa Sohma, Himatari Shouseke, Heero and Yuki Ekoku, and Riku Azuzi." Schizaeaceae-sensei pointed to each arrival in turn, "please take your seats."

The transfers shuffled to their seats. Yuki and Heero Ekoku sat on either side of Yuki Sohma, Riku Azuzi sat behind Hanajima, and the other transfers sat in other empty desks around the classroom. Although they shouldn't have been talking across the room, all six arrivals murmured greetings to Kyo. Yuki silently noticed the tense set of his cousin's shoulders as the orange top accepted the greetings with a cold 'hey'.

"I see you seven know each other," commented S-sensei, "I'll leave you to show them around, Sohma-kun."

Instead, Sohma-kun promptly skipped his next class, which he shared with Niwa Sohma.

"Falling back into bad habits, are we, Kyo-kun?"

Kyo recognized the voice without fail.

"I thought you would atleast acknowledge me, Kyo-kun. I didn't think I hurt you that bad."

Kyo swung around at Yuki Ekoku's words. They did their job and caught his attention, the evil bastard. Kyo glared at his classmate, "get bent, asshole."

Yuki seemed genuinely hurt by Kyo's words, but, he quickly recovered, "you never spoke to me, like this, before! You must be coming around!"

Kyo didn't give Yuki the satisfaction of rolling his eyes. He just turned on his heel and tread the familiar steps to his destination.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" behind Kyo, Yuki twirled lazily in the opposite direction.

**Author's Note: This is what I need: the names of all the girls in Yuki's fan club, and the names of their friends. I simply cannot continue without those names. Thanks for reading(and helping me out)!!!**

**To help you out a little, I'll be sure to make sure you know which Yuki is talking. While Yuki Sohma doesn't use a lot of exclamation marks, Yuki Ekoku will have a flamboyant personality and use a lot of exclamation marks whenever someone insults him...like Yuki gone OOC...or demon Aayame incarnate.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter contains disturbing content.**

The Thin Line

By Nocturn Sadist

Once Kyo reached his destination, he effectively avoided the one man he did not want to see for once. With the dojo newly renovated and expanded, it was easy. All Kyo had to do was keep his sharp hearing pointed and pad softly.

An hour later, it was time for students to start arriving.

Kyo knew that Shishou had acquired new students, some his age. He didn't know if they had already been introduced to the dojo, but, he new who they were. The first class was a beginner class, but consisted of teens between thirteen and sixteen. Kyo just hoped they weren't boneheads.

So that Shishou remained unaware of his presence, Kyo went out to intercept the class they had both conceded for him to voluntarily teach.

Kyo slipped out of a window, barefoot, and walked casually down the street. He looked for anyone between the specified ages and those who were heading in the general direction of the dojo.

Kyo spotted his first victim just rounding the corner.

The guy was huge, and definitely a bonehead. He wore dark shades and his navy blue hair in a tight and gelled ponytail. He had a black duffel bag slung over his shoulder, but he was clad in leather from head to toe.

As they approached each other Kyo shoved his shoulder against the guy's arm and kept walking.

"Hey!"

Kyo heard the man's boots stomp behind him he picked up his pace. He scanned the street for anyone he might have missed. The whole time he looked for his other students, the guy never relented. His stride was long, so Kyo knew the guy was trying to tease him into running. He picked up several other students on the way. They all looked at the leather clad man, then at Kyo, and followed dutifully. The students kept on glancing back at the neanderthal throughout their trek around town, but, (Kyo assumed) Leather Clad realized that they were heading to Kazuma's dojo; he was too far back to hear Kyo's voice as he told the other kids to follow him.

By the time Kyo had intercepted nineteen kids in all, he doubted Shishou didn't have a clue something was going on. Instead of going through the main entrance, or even a side door, they went through the same window Kyo had deserted earlier.

"Don't make a sound."

Twenty of them slipped through the small window (even Leather Clad) and filed into the room. When Kyo straightened himself, he came face to face with a silently seething Shishou.

For once, Kyo was speechless.

"You're improving Kyo," Kazuma said, "at the art of invisibility. But, you made one mistake."

Kyo frowned. The students glanced at each other, puzzled.

"Why did the school call me this morning, saying you skipped class?"

When nervous grins broke out Shishou spun around and walked up and down the row of students, "one thing you must be sure of is that _no one _is anticipating you! Otherwise you might as well ring the damned doorbell!"

Everyone shut up at Kazuma's tone. They had just met the man and if one of his senior students had excited his wrath over a simple mistake, then they wanted to keep him happy.

"Takai!"

"Hai!" another senior student ran into the room and began instructing the new arrivals without prompt. Kyo tuned out the bellowing voice as he followed his adoptive father into the living quarters of the dojo.

Kyo stood, his eyes trained on the floor.

Shishou sighed. "Kyo, the school called me this morning, saying you had skipped yet_ again_ when you were assigned a student duty by the teacher. You are going—,"

"No!" Kyo sliced his hand through the air. He gasped in air, blown by Shishou's reaction, "I'm not going back to that place."

Once the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.

"What is it about 'that place' that you don't like, Kyo? The students, the teachers? Don't forget that I had to reach into my pockets to get you back into school."

"I kn—,"

Kyo stopped, or, he was cut off. Kazuma saw his adopted son grip his mouth, the bones in his hands rippling under the skin.

_Oh no._

Although it had been a long time since it had last happened, and Kyo was sure it would never happen again, it did. He felt the nauseating feel of his bones bending and breaking; they were rearranging themselves into an animalistic skeleton. Needles slid into Kyo's eyes as his pupils dilated and stretched into those of a feline. He could hear and feel his jaw pop from their hinges. His lips thinned and stretched across he growing teeth.

He could no longer emit coherent screams of agony and shame. What was happening to him?

—

"AAAAHHH!" screams of frustration and rage ripped through Akito's throat. He threw anything that came to hand, at anything that breathed or so much as rustled in the wind. He threw the porcelain bowl at the glass bird cage. The glass and bowl both shattered, releasing several small sparrows. Some fell to the ground seizing in shock, while their brethren flew around the hall, scattering drops of rubies.

Shigure stood in the corner, dodging any objects that were lethally thrown his way. Hatori sat motionless, on the floor. To Shigure, the man didn't dare breathe.

Akito's hands trembled as he reached down for a trembling sparrow lying in the debris of broken glass and porcelain. His feet left red footprints on the waxed wooden floor. He picked up the ball of feathers in one fist and toyed with the bloodstained feathers with his other.

"I...I never ask much," he said thickly, "and yet, I can't help but be the one to suffer from the consequences of your selfish actions."

Shigure made to approach Akito. Instead, he heard the pleading protests of the sparrow, as if its skin was being peeled from its wings.

One feather fell to the floor at a time. Hatori continued to sit in the same position as when he first knelt. He hadn't twitched since Akito began his angry rampage.

"Akito," all that moved was Hatori's lips, "what's done—,"

"Nothing is done!" a withering smirk adorned Akito's features, "nothing is done Hatori, love. Nothing is done, and now, the entire family is dead!"

"Akito," Shigure's voice sounded hoarse to his own ears, "Kyo isn't responsible for...it's not his fault. Akito, when you told us about—,"

Akito held up his hand with the suffering sparrow, "what _did _I tell Kyo-kun to do? I told him to take care of old business. It's God's fault we were cursed. So, technically..." Akito twisted the bird's head, feeling the small bones flex and give, "it's God who has to pay the price."

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading and please review! The characters might be a bit OOC, but I didn't know how Kazuma would act if he had finally gotten fed up with Kyo, and frankly, I haven't touched Faruba since last year. Go ahead, punish me!!!**

**By the way, I need a beta worker...**


	3. Chapter 3

The Thin Line

By Nocturn Sadist

He payed attention only to his breathing. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. And exhale. Inhale... There was nothing he could do. He was crouched low, his shirt torn to shreds during the mutation. He pants stretched oddly, but they weren't uncomfortable. And, by God...all gods, any God. What _happened?!_

"Kyo..." Kazuma took a step towards his son. He didn't know what to say, to do. "Kyo—,"

"Everything _won't_ be alright," Kyo snapped in his inhuman voice, "I'm going to be stuck like this forever."

"I wasn't going to say everything is going to be alright," Kazuma said patiently, "I was going to say 'wait here'. I need to get something from my room."

Kyo didn't answer so Kazuma took that as the boy's silent compliance. He rushed through the dojo to his living quarters, and specifically, his room.

What he was looking for wasn't something he hung on the wall, or left in the change bowl on his dresser. He hid it in a thin and small box under his futon. He hoped it would work after all the hard work he had put into repairing it. He had searched and researched, looking for _any _ancient history on the Sohmas. They did go back far, a family that always produced children of high intelligence and great skill. But, there was no ancient lore on the curse. He wouldn't do anything that my ruin the accessory. So, he repaired it as best he could...all thirteen beads.

He slipped into the room and slid the door shut quietly. Anyone other than Kazuma would have never turned their back on Kyo in his true Cat form. But, Kyo meant a lot to Kazuma. He was Kazuma's adopted son, and more importantly, his heir. Everything he owned would one day be Kyo's. He felt proud of passing on his legacy to the young man. He didn't have any doubt the Cat would continue with the dojo. He might not be as good as his shishou, but some knowledge defied everything but time. In time, Kyo would have forgotten his anger with the world if not his short temper.

Kazuma turned to his son. The smell no longer disgusted him. He could hardly smell it anymore. He loved Kyo that much. No matter what Kyo looked like, Kazuma always looked at him with love. He was doing this now, and saw, with a bit of amusement, that Kyo's temper began to flare.

The trademark vein, at his temple, made its presence known even under all the grey and leathery skin.

"_What?!" _the Cat demanded.

Kazuma sighed and opened the box.

"No," Kyo said, "no, no, no, and no! I am not putting that on! I broke it last year! It was gone, I had lost the beads; left them where they fell!"

"Honda-san brought them to me in case they were ever needed again. She spent weeks looking for all thirteen beads. You'd be amazed to what extent she went to find them all."

"**I DON'T CARE! I'm never wearing those again! I'm like this! I'll just deal with it! I'm not putting those back on! Akito will make me go into—,"**

"Kyo!" Kazuma looked at Kyo with a hurt expression, "I wouldn't ever allow Akito to get his hands on you. Don't think so little of me. Akito no longer has control over you. The curse is _broken."_

"But—,"

"_Listen_ to me, Kyo. I raised you from a very young age. I provided for and love you. I have as much say in your future after the curse as Akito does."

"But—,"

"That's enough! As your father, I am commanding you to put this on."

—

"When did you start feeling this pulling on your chest?"

"I don't know," said Yuki, "yesterday, maybe. But, it's not my lungs, it's something else..."

"Like what?" asked Hatori, "your heart?"

Yuki shook his head.

"Stress?"

"...I don't know."

"Have you been fighting with Kyo?"

"I haven't seen him in the past couple of days."

Hatori sighed, inwardly defeated. He kept the look on his face neutral, but, inside, he was puzzled. Yuki wasn't know to have just anything wrong with him. From time to time his respiratory would act up, but the teen was mostly immune to stress and colds. Or maybe it was stress, but he either refused to admit it to his doctor or refused there was anything wrong at all.

"Are you worried something happened to Kyo-kun?"

"Hatori...I am a bit worried about the idiot. I'm worried he had a falling in with some motorcycle punk. He could be buried under thousands of pounds of garbage, mewling for help. But, this feeling...it has nothing to do with anyone; not even those spicy pickled radishes Shigure cooked for dinner last night."

Hatori grimaced. Everyone knew Shigure's culinary arts didn't go far, and he sympathized with his young cousins in living with the manipulative man. Maybe that was the reason for Kyo disappearing.

"I see. So Honda-san is still away one her trip. Is Shigure having the same chest problems?"

The slightest wrinkle in Yuki's brow. He nodded.

"Can you tell him—"

A knock on the door sounded and one of his nurses entered the room. "Dr. Sohma, there's a man on the phone that says he's your uncle? He's says it's a very urgent emergency and that one of your patients are concerned. Line nine."

"What is his name?"

"Kazuma-sama I believe."

Hatori rushed to the phone.

"Kazuma?"

"_Hatori, I would consult you over the phone, but this isn't something to talk about freely..."_

"What's wrong?"

"_It's Kyo..."_

"Is he with you?"

"_Yes...he's...something's wrong with him..."_

"H...how's Akito?"

"_Oh! Akito is fine. In fact, Akito would be ecstatic to discover Kyo in this particular situation...in fact, Akito would be ecstatic at the __**perfect timing."**_

Hatori slammed the phone down, whirling on Yuki, "go home. Don't tell anyone about your chest pains, especially Shigure."

Yuki nodded.

—

"I understand. But, the past is the past. My charges are no longer puppets."

"_I do understand you, Sohma-san. But, we had a very important deal. My family hangs in the balance. You can't just back_out."

"I feel very terrible, having led you on as I did. I would marry Shuichiro-kun myself, but, frankly, that would be impossible."

"_Why? Shuichiro-kun is of very high standing, in my book."_

"Well, of course. He _is_ your son. I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Haiku-sama."

"_Then it's settled. They shall marry on the last day of this month."_

"Haiku-sama. They will never marry. Your family will all die if I can help it."

"_And if you can't, Sohma-san? What will you do then?"_

Click.

**Author's Note: AAAHHH!!! I HATE THIS CHAPTER!!! The characters are so out of character!!! I might as well give them all new names and no one could tell the difference. Yeah, that's what I'll do—give them all new names so you won't know this is a damn Faruba fanfic.**


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